Rowan College at Gloucester County was home to over 1,000 Japanese animation enthusiasts this weekend, with its 7th annual Kotoricon event. The convention, or "con" as its insiders call it for short, hosted several activities from celebrity guest panels to Japanese rock bands.

Sold out for its 4th straight year, what brings the attendees together is a common interest in Japanese animation and culture, most visibly expressed through the way they dress as characters from popular media. While many other high-profile conventions around the country draw crowds in the hundreds of thousands, Kotoricon isn't your destination event, but more like a hometown con, self-described as "the little anime convention with a big heart."

"We keep it small, on purpose," Dr. Susan Glenn, the convention chair, said. Because of its smaller size, Kotoricon benefits from shorter lines, lower prices and avoids other aspects typical of a high-traffic event.

The convention, run by students in Rowan College's Japanese Anime Guild and a host of volunteers, also doubles as the school's biggest charity event. Proceeds from ticket and auction sales contribute to four different charities, including a $10,000 endowment set up to provide scholarships for selected students who engage in community service. This being the first year of the endowment, organizers of Kotoricon plan to continue contributions year-to-year in the hopes that it will grow and further aid students.

Other charities include Liberty in North Korea, which is an organization dedicated to rehabilitating North Korean refugees during their adjustment to life outside of the country, and Able Gamers, which helps to "mainstream" video games for people with disabilities through custom gameplay and specialized controllers.

Included in the list of this year's special guest panelists were four voice actors from the Pokemon animated series, former red Power Ranger Brandon McLaren and comedian Uncle Yo. The guest panelists were aware of Kotoricon's mission as a charity event, unlike the usual for-profit conventions they would be booked for.

"All these guests, these VIPs, they usually charge large amounts to go to conventions. They all cut their fees because they want the students to put the money towards charity," Glenn said.

One of the common reasons people attend Kotoricon and other conventions around the country is so Japan enthusiasts can share their similar interests with others, most notably by wearing intricate costumes. "Cosplay," a term derived from costume play, is the bread and butter of anime conventions, where fans dress in usually homemade outfits in the style of characters from anime, manga (Japanese comics), and video games.

"Everyone cosplays on Halloween, so this is just specific to anime characters," Kotoricon organizer Shannon Quinn said. "I was speaking to a girl who volunteers here, and she was saying that normally she's very shy and introverted, but then she puts on the costume and she feels more powerful."

The themes of community and empowerment are prevalent throughout many attendees' experiences at Kotoricon, a concept that high-school filmmaker Sarah Williams set out to explore in a documentary she's filming set in anime conventions. Kotoricon is one of over a dozen cons she's attended, and is something she described a passion for.

"Everyone comes together at these cons, so that was what really inspired me to capture that, for not only fans of cons, but people who have no idea what it's about," Williams, of Mount Laurel, said.

Holding a camera and dressed in a long brown wig with a white furred suit, Williams voiced the significance of cosplay at anime conventions.

"It's about expressing your interests in your own unique way," Williams said, "Having the bravery to step outside while wearing hair that's not yours and dressing up like this is a statement of confidence, it's a statement of growth, and it's a statement of togetherness."

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